Elizabeth Norris, Baroness Norris of Rycote (c. 1603 – November 1645) was an English noblewoman and a suo jure

Suo jure

Suo jure is a Latin phrase meaning "in her [or his] own right".It is commonly encountered in the context of titles of nobility, especially in cases where a wife may hold a title in her own right rather than through her marriage....

baroness. She was the wife of Edward Wray

Edward Wray

Edward Wray was an English peer and politician. He was the Groom of the Bedchamber to James I of England and married Elizabeth Norris, Baroness Norris of Rycote. Their elopement was allegedly the inspiration for Orlando Gibbons Fantazies.-References:...

, Groom of the Bedchamber to King James I of England

James I of England

James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...

, with whom she eloped in 1622, and incurred the king's displeasure as she was his royal ward

Ward (law)

In law, a ward is someone placed under the protection of a legal guardian. A court may take responsibility for the legal protection of an individual, usually either a child or incapacitated person, in which case the ward is known as a ward of the court, or a ward of the state, in the United States,...

. Elizabeth and her elopement was allegedly the inspiration for Orlando Gibbons

Orlando Gibbons

Orlando Gibbons was an English composer, virginalist and organist of the late Tudor and early Jacobean periods...

 Fantazies.

Family

Elizabeth was born in about 1603, the only child of Francis Norris, 1st Earl of Berkshire

Francis Norris, 1st Earl of Berkshire

Francis Norris, 1st Earl of Berkshire was an English nobleman with the title of Earl of Berkshire.He was the son of Captain William Norreys and Elizabeth, daughter of Richard Morrison of Cassiobury in Hertfordshire, and was born at Wytham in Berkshire . He married Bridget de Vere, although they...

 and Lady Bridget de Vere

Bridget de Vere

Bridget de Vere, Countess of Berkshire , was an English noblewoman, the daughter of Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford. Bridget was brought up by her maternal grandfather, the powerful statesman William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley...

, daughter of Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford

Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford

Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford was an Elizabethan courtier, playwright, lyric poet, sportsman and patron of the arts, and is currently the most popular alternative candidate proposed for the authorship of Shakespeare's works....

 and Anne Cecil

Anne Cecil

Anne Cecil, Countess of Oxford was the daughter of statesman William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley, the chief advisor of Queen Elizabeth I of England, and the translator Mildred Cooke. In 1571, she became the first wife of Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford...

. Elizabeth's aunt was Elizabeth de Vere, Countess of Derby

Elizabeth de Vere, Countess of Derby

Elizabeth de Vere, Countess of Derby, Lord of Mann was an English noblewoman and the eldest daughter of Elizabethan courtier, poet, and playwright Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford....

 and Lord of Mann

Lord of Mann

The title Lord of Mann is used on the Isle of Man to refer to Queen Elizabeth II, who is the island's Lord Proprietor and head of state.-Relationship with the Crown:The title is not correctly used on its own...

. Elizabeth had another aunt Lady Susan de Vere, whose husband Philip Herbert, 4th Earl of Pembroke

Philip Herbert, 4th Earl of Pembroke

Philip Herbert, 4th Earl of Pembroke and 1st Earl of Montgomery KG was an English courtier and politician active during the reigns of James I and Charles I...

 was rumoured to have been Elizabeth's lover prior to her marriage.

Elopement

In 1621, Elizabeth was being courted by Edward Wray, a Groom of the Bedhamber to King James. In January 1622, her father, who was estranged from her mother and just released from Fleet Prison

Fleet Prison

Fleet Prison was a notorious London prison by the side of the Fleet River in London. The prison was built in 1197 and was in use until 1844. It was demolished in 1846.- History :...

 (where he had been sent after a scuffle with another courtier in the presence of Prince Charles

Charles I of England

Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...

), committed suicide. His estates thereby became forfeit to the crown, and Elizabeth became the King's ward. Elizabeth gained the suo jure title of Baroness Norris of Rycote, and the King wished for her to marry Christopher Villiers, the brother of his favourite

Favourite

A favourite , or favorite , was the intimate companion of a ruler or other important person. In medieval and Early Modern Europe, among other times and places, the term is used of individuals delegated significant political power by a ruler...

 George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham

George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham

George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham KG was the favourite, claimed by some to be the lover, of King James I of England. Despite a very patchy political and military record, he remained at the height of royal favour for the first two years of the reign of Charles I, until he was assassinated...

. She was living with the Herberts, which gave rise to the rumour that she was the mistress of her aunt's husband, the Earl; and from there she eloped with Edward Wray on 27 March 1622. They were married at St Mary Aldermary's Church. Following the ceremony, Elizabeth, fearful of the King's anger, went to the Fleet Street

Fleet Street

Fleet Street is a street in central London, United Kingdom, named after the River Fleet, a stream that now flows underground. It was the home of the British press until the 1980s...

 house of her half-uncle Henry de Vere, 18th Earl of Oxford

Henry de Vere, 18th Earl of Oxford

Henry de Vere, 18th Earl of Oxford was an English aristocrat, courtier and soldier.-Life:He was born on 24 February 1593 at Newington, Middlesex, the only son of Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, by his second wife, Elizabeth Trentham. He succeeded his father as on 24 June 1604.He is said to...

 for protection. When their elopement was discovered, Wray was placed under house arrest until February 1623, and lost his position at court. The Earl of Oxford was sent to the Tower of London

Tower of London

Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...

.

It was alleged that Elizabeth's elopement with Wray inspired composer Orlando Gibbons to write his Fantazies.

Issue and succession

Eventually Elizabeth and her husband were reunited. Together they had a daughter, Bridget Wray (12 May 1627- March 1657), who succeeded Elizabeth as suo jure Baroness Norris of Rycote. Bridget married Montagu Bertie, 2nd Earl of Lindsey

Montagu Bertie, 2nd Earl of Lindsey

Montagu Bertie, 2nd Earl of Lindsey, 15th Baron Willoughby de Eresby, KG, PC was the eldest son of Robert Bertie, 1st Earl of Lindsey and his wife Elizabeth Montagu, daughter of Edward Montagu, 1st Baron Montagu of Boughton.-Early life:...

, by whom she had issue. Elizabeth died in November 1645 aged about 42. She was buried on 28 November 1645.